The accurate detection of various properties of a sample is an area with numerous applications in different fields of technology. Within liquid chromatography, for instance, the detection of fluorescence to determine the amount of a chemical element in a sample is often required. Fluorescence detection devices, however, are often expensive and bulky because they combine high sensitivity and wavelength selection capabilities. Often, a spectrometer is used to detect fluorescence signals of different wavelengths, as is known through CN2856989, for instance.
Other methods for measuring fluorescence are also known, for instance through the use of fiber-optical probes that are to be immersed in a sample and that are connected to a lower cost optical spectrometer. Thereby, a more cost efficient apparatus is achieved, but at a much lower sensitivity.
There is therefore generally a need for a method and apparatus for detecting fluorescence that can be produced in a cost efficient way and still maintain a high sensitivity and accuracy in measuring properties of a sample.